“The Europe is …? – Long Live the New Europe!”

“The Europe is …? – Long Live the New Europe!”

Event Date(s)
Location
Sheraton Grand Tbilisi Metechi Palace (20 Telavi St)

Following the UGSPN-conference tradition, which aims at elevating key events and topics that drive national, regional and global dynamics, the 2025 conference titled “THE EUROPE IS…? – LONG LIVE THE NEW EUROPE!” attempts to address the question of the European Idea and its future and challenges associated with it.

We are witnessing the worrying tendencies of growing transnationalization and coordination efforts of autocratic regimes that lead to direct and brutal attacks against democratic societies and nations. Therefore, the conference seeks to identify potent strategies to counter such attacks, as well as to identify key weaknesses (whether strategic, conceptual or operational) of liberal democracies to resist and prove themselves resilient against authoritarian advances. Furthermore, while the prospects of a new American isolationism trigger the old/new idea of the European autonomy in security and defence, the reality and practical challenges along with the existing systemic policy deficits, make the EU’s attempts to navigate to “safe waters” quite questionable.

Key panels will analyze Europe’s pursuit of security and defense autonomy amid shifting transatlantic relations, the dilemmas surrounding EU-enlargement with a focus on Eastern Europe, and the prospects for cooperation and integration in the South Caucasus. Further, the discussions will address the entrenchment of autocratic regimes, exploring societal resistance and institutional resilience. The discussion will engage critically with the role of political leaders and party structures in addressing contemporary challenges, including democratic backsliding and the war in Ukraine.

Towards Security/Defence Autonomy

Europe is forced to become more self-aware and self-sufficient in terms of security provision and defense. The rhetoric and actions initiated by the new Trump-administration leave no doubt about the intentions of the White House to radically reduce its military presence in Europe and even “sanction” those European NATO-members who refuse to increase their military spending above the agreed 2% of GDP. The transatlantic security cooperation, which rests not only on the fair share of military burden, but on extensive intelligence and defence industry collaboration, if left unchanged risks to generate significant challenges and threats for the European continent and therefore radically alter its political, as well as the socio-economic landscape. The panel speakers are invited to discuss the currents policies and tendencies and illuminate the prospects of potential security developments, policies and new conceptual frameworks.

New Eastern Europe: Enlargement Dilemma

As the European Union struggles to redefine its Enlargement perspectives, and the sense of strategic uncertainty is descending upon the continent, the European policies of enlargement and the logic of enlargement itself must be redefined, re-formulated and well understood. Not only from the perspective of the Brussels bureaucracy, but from the capitals of candidate countries, as well as of those

who do not exclude the possibility of a far stronger rapprochement with the EU, the mechanisms of Europeanisation, approximation and credible conditionality must be offered. Thus, the panel speakers will focus on the variety of options available in the context of strategic political and economic development. Not least the models of security arrangements necessary for securing the membership path offer a promising thematic field for discussion.

South Caucasus – Security through Cooperation and Integration

Two key events have dramatically changed the dynamics of processes in the South Caucasus (SC). The restoration of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan as a result of the lightning wars in 2022 and 2024, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine that propelled Georgia to gaining the EU-Candidate status, once again illustrated the fragility of the regional status-quo and re- ignited the “ancient” ideas of a stronger regional cooperation between the SC-countries. These ideas go even beyond the standard proposals of a more intensified cooperation and offer a full- fledged concept of South Caucasus integration centered around the core pillars of shared economy, transport and security. Whether lasting security can be achieved by mimicking the European experience of integrative efforts of past decades is an issue worth uncovering and analyzing in this panel.

Future of Autocracies: Societies in Change

Once heralded as the lighthouse of democracy in the post-soviet area, Georgia rapidly plunged into the club of authoritarian regimes and continues abolishing the remaining liberties the Georgian political system and society were so much proud of in the past. It appears that authoritarian tendencies have an impact on a global scale and increasingly display the quality of a well-coordinated effort. In fact, we are witnessing an unprecedented example of autocratic cooperation not only to survive but to prevail and collectively suppress democratic “challenges” globally.

In the first session of the panel an emphasis will be made on Georgia with some other relevant cases in which strategies and movements of resistance will be discussed that challenge autocracies, ranging from grassroots activism to institutional reforms. The second session will draw attention to the mechanisms of authoritarian entrenchment that turns into a sustainable phenomenon largely due to the mentioned practice of global autocratic collaboration. Participants are as invited to provide insights into the practices of democratic resilience and resistance (whether institutional or societal ones) while addressing the dynamics of digital disinformation, geopolitical pressures, and the evolving role of civil society

Leaders, Parties and Politics – the Organizational Causes of Failure?

As the united European response to Kremlins invasion in Ukraine demonstrates obvious cracks in speed, scale and credibility needed, pundits increasingly look for the contemporary Churchills capable of uniting Europe and standing up to the biggest threat in the continent since the fall of Soviet Union. Many question the ability of current political leaders to think and act strategically. Others claim that the political parties evolved to the strange structures that no longer have any bond to the regular citizens, and in fact turned into a profit-making like enterprises that no longer create politics but use politics for personal or organizational benefits. Some argue that the advance of populist leaders and parties is the global response to that failure. Whether there are structural causes of the failure of conventional party politics, or the global dynamics of socio-cultural change can serve as the plausible explanation, panel speakers are invited to reflect on these factors as well as on the future prospects of the relationship between parties, leaders and party politics.

Invited Speakers

“The Europe is …? – Long Live the New Europe!”
Krzysztof Brejza

Krzysztof Brejza

Member of the European Parliament | Lawyer

Krzysztof Brejza is a distinguished Polish politician and legal expert currently serving as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP), where he plays an active role on the Committees on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, and Foreign Affairs, including EU Enlargement. A dedicated member of the Civic Platform party, Brejza brings over two decades of public service and legislative experience to the European stage.

Born in Bydgoszcz, Poland, in 1983, Brejza holds a Master of Laws degree from the University of Warsaw and a Doctor of Juridical Science degree from the SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities. He also completed advanced studies in International Relations, reflecting his commitment to global dialogue and democratic governance.

His political career began at the regional level in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Regional Assembly before entering the national legislature in 2007 as a Member of the Sejm, where he served three consecutive terms. In 2019, he was elected to the Polish Senate, and in 2024, he assumed his current role in the European Parliament.

Brejza is a vocal advocate for European security, democratic integrity, civil rights, and digital security. In 2021, he was at the center of a high-profile surveillance scandal, after revelations that Pegasus spyware was used against him during the 2019 parliamentary elections while he was leading the Civic Coalition’s campaign. His response to these events has only strengthened his resolve to protect democratic institutions and individual freedoms across Europe.

Today, Krzysztof Brejza remains a key voice in shaping European policy on justice, human rights, and democratic resilience.

“The Europe is …? – Long Live the New Europe!”
Dr. Mustafa Aydin

Mustafa Aydın is a Professor of International Relations at Kadir Has University (Istanbul), and the President of International Relations Council of Turkey. Previously, he worked at Ankara University (1994-2005) and Economy and Technology University (2005-2009), and was the Rector of Kadir Has University between 2010 and 2018. Professor Aydın was guest researcher and/or lecturer at Michigan (1998), Harvard (2002, Fulbright fellow), and Athens (2003, Onassis Fellow) universities, as well as at Richardson Institute for Peace Studies (1999, Unesco Fellow), the EU Institute for Security Studies (2003) and the Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen (2018). He is a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Art, Greek-Turkish Forum, Global Relations Forum, European Leadership Network, International Studies Association, Turkish Atlantic Council, and the Turkish Political Sciences Association. He was member of Economy and Foreign Policy Study Group of the President of Turkey (2003-2009), Co-Coordinator of the International Commission on Black Sea (2010); and Director of International Policy Research Institute (2005-2011). Prof. Aydın’s areas of interest include international politics, foreign policy analysis, security issues related to Central Asia, Caucasus, the Black Sea and the Middle East, as well as Turkish foreign and security policies. Some of his works are International Security Today; Understanding Change and Debating Security (with K. Ifantis, 2006); Turkish Foreign and Security Policy (2006); Turkish Foreign Policy; Old Problems, New Parameters (2010); and Non-Traditional Security Threats and Regional Cooperation in the Southern Caucasus (2011)

“The Europe is …? – Long Live the New Europe!”
Amb. Gigi Gigiadze

Gigi Gigiadze joined the Economic Policy Research Center as Senior Fellow in March 2021. In 2001 he graduated from Georgian Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University with the Master’s Degree in international relations. Throughout different periods he studied in Germany and in 1999 as the recipient of the Alfred Toepfer Stiftung F.V.S. scholarship spent one academic year at the University of Hamburg where he studied political and social sciences.

As a career diplomat Gigi Gigiadze has 24 years of working experience at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia. Since 2000 he held different positions at the Ministry’s European Affairs Department, where he was in charge of bilateral relations with the West European countries and later became the head of the same department.

Between 2014-2016 in the capacity of the Deputy Foreign Minister of Georgia, Gigi Gigiadze was in charge of the bilateral relations with the neighboring countries, European countries and the European Union. At the same time, he was chief negotiator of the Georgian side with the European Union on the Visa Liberalization Action Plan (VLAP).

During his extensive diplomatic career Gigi Gigiadze served in the Georgian diplomatic missions in Athens and Berlin, where he was in charge of political as well as consular issues. Until March 2021 Gigi Gigiadze was Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Georgia to the Kingdom of Denmark and the Republic of Iceland with residence in Copenhagen.

“The Europe is …? – Long Live the New Europe!”
Dr. Fernando Casal Bértoa

Fernando Casal Bértoa is an Associate Professor in the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Nottingham (United Kingdom). He is co-director of REPRESENT: Research Centre for the Study of Parties and Democracy. Member of the OSCE/ODIHR “Core Group of Political Party Experts”, he is also International IDEA and Westminster Foundation for Democracy collaborator as well as Venice Commission and United Nations expert. His work has been published in Journal of Politics, British Journal of Political Science, Perspectives on Politics, European Journal of Political Research, Sociological Methods and Research, Journal of Democracy, Electoral Studies, West European Politics, Party Politics, European Political Science Review, Democratization, European Constitutional Law Review, Political Studies Review, European Political Science, Government and Opposition, International Political Science Review, Political Research Exchange, Representation, Politics and Governance, Research and Politics, Policy Studies, European Politics and Society, South European Society and Politics, Italian Political Science Review, Irish Political Studies, East European Politics and Societies, East European Politics, Public Money and Management, or Frontiers in Political Science. He was awarded the 2017 Gordon Smith and Vincent Wright Memorial Prize, the 2017 AECPA Prize for the Best Article, the 2018 Vice-Chancellor Medal of the University of Nottingham for “exceptional achievements” and the 2022 Routledge Area Studies Impact Award. His latest monograph, winner of the 2022 AECPA Best Book Prize and runner-up for the 2022 Stein Rokkan Prize, is titled Party System Closure: Party Alliances, Government Alternative and Democracy in Europe (Oxford University Press, 2021).

arrow left
arrow right